One man's friend is another man's prey
by laughsalot12
Summary: With Merlin's secret  partly  out and about, Arthur and Sir Leon do their best to keep it...well secret, the only problem Sir Tristan, knight, nuisance and on a vendetta... !Sequel of Friend turned Prey!
1. Chapter 1

**Hellooo, finally got around to start writing the sequel to my story _Friend turned Prey_, soo if you haven't read that one, I recommend doing that first, while there is some kind of short summary in this chapter...you might still miss some things..so check it out! =D **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin!**

**Enjoy!**

**Prologue**

Sir Tristan, knight of Camelot, in his opinion one of the best, silently moved through the dark streets of the lower town, all the while pondering the latest events.

Only a few months ago he had not only been a respected man, but also well on the way of becoming one of the king's most trusted and indispensible knights. But then the unforeseeable had happened…

It had all started with that dumb mission to investigate a possible gathering of sorcerers close to Camelot. Prince Arthur and several knights, including him, had been sent out to confirm the rumours and to deal with the sorcerer's accordingly, if they were truly there. The whole trip had started out perfectly for Tristan. He'd managed to get close to the prince and subtly promoted his own cause with flattering remarks about the blonde's leadership style, his combat skills and even his dumb horse. He had basically been able to watch Arthur's ego grow from where he was standing and then as he was just about to ask the prince for a tiny favour the first obstacle presented itself.

Sir Leon.

That annoying knight, who'd just happened to be second in command on this mission, swept in like a shark scenting blood and had monopolized Arthur for the rest of the trip. (Of course Sir Tristan didn't know that Arthur's slightly pleading look had prompted his ever faithful knight to intervene on his behalf. However much he liked compliments, there was a boundary in how much bootlicking he could stomach, especially since Merlin had so successfully got him off his high horse,… most of the time anyway.)

Then, when they had finally reached the clearing, where the sorcerers were actually assembling, Sir Tristan was beyond ecstatic to find out that the prince's own manservant was a sorcerer. Oh the possibilities…

.

Unfortunately from there everything had gone straight to hell.

First, he had been knocked out moments after their battalion attacked the sorcerers, which had really hurt.

Second, when he'd woken up back in Camelot, in the physician's quarters and realized that no one knew of Merlin's treachery yet, he practically flew to the throne room to inform the king. And like it always should have been he became the king's right hand in that troublesome affair. Heck, he'd even locked the crown prince of Camelot into the dungeons. But he'd made a huge, unforgiveable mistake…he had let Sir Leon simply slip through his net, which had proven to be his downfall.

The other knight had destroyed him with little more than half-arsed lies and an implied deceit combined with an enchantment; which had for him ended in an extended stay in the dungeons.

Finally, he'd been forced to apologize in front of the whole court and even now he was constantly under watch by the other knights and received nothing but mistrust.

They were going to pay, Leon, Arthur and foremost that scrawny manservant/sorcerer, whose lie was the cause of Tristan's predicament. For that very reason he was now sneaking through the lower town like a common thief. Soon he would be back to his former glory and status…soon.

Reaching his destination Tristan ducked into an empty, rundown house and was greeted by a seedy looking man, who grinned at him in anticipation.

"Did you bring it?" sneered Tristan, intent on leaving again.

"Yes, yes…I have it" holding his hand palm-up, the thug revealed the object in his hand. Snatching it from the others hand Tristan barked "It works?"

"Yes, yes. Perfectly, I tested it myself." Replied the man cackling.

"Good." Smirking maliciously Tristan handed his latest 'friend' a pouch with gold coins and swiftly left the house.

Time to get his revenge…

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><p><strong>Review? pleease =D :D<strong>

**little on the short side but I'll try to change that in future! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for any mistakes (unbeta'd), ****Thanks for all the lovely reviews! :D**

**Disclaimer: Don't..**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Merlin was late, not that that was anything unusual, but this time he actually had a very good reason, well in his opinion anyway. Although, on the other hand he couldn't really see 'I couldn't sleep, because I had a really bad feeling.' going over too well. Not that he had any problems with irritating Arthur beyond reason; it was just too much fun.

And now that he could use his magic to complete most of the chores instantly, he had even more time to make up ways to annoy Arthur.

The prince had to his everlasting surprise taken the whole magic thing better than Merlin had expected. It was as if, now that all the secrets and lies were gone, they were even closer and better friends.

Especially interesting for him had been when Arthur had actually asked him to give him some pointers on how to deflect or escape magical attacks. It seemed he was quite tired of being knocked out, over and over again. However, Merlin was still thinking about that, as he wasn't quite sure how to exactly 'train' the prince against magical attacks. For him it was easy enough, deflect, duck or get hit and stand up only a little worse for wear. Arthur would have no such luxury; he hadn't got a ridiculous amount of magic pulsing through his veins. But that was a problem that would have to wait for now…concluded Merlin his pondering as he spotted Sir Tristan.

While there had been no indication that he was going to expose Merlin…_again_, his present uneasiness spiked to a whole other level when he saw Tristan's devious smirk. Nevertheless Merlin couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. Didn't the bad guys know that their smirking was a dead giveaway that something sinister was going on or going to happen?

Anyway, having finally reached Arthur's chambers Merlin walked in with his usual grin and was about to greet Arthur, only to be interrupted by a flying goblet. Ducking instinctively, he managed to avoid the projectile. After righting himself he again tried to address the prince, and yet again he was stopped. Holding up one of his favourite shirts Arthur bellowed "There's a hole in my shirt!" showing his servant the offending tear. Promptly the raven-head remembered that he was supposed to mend it, two or three days ago…oops.

Thinking quickly Merlin replied "No, there isn't" and with a flash of gold eyes the hole closed.

"Yes, there is." Arthur shouted back.

"No, there isn't."

"Yes, ther.." inspecting the shirt yet again, to show the damn thing to Merlin, Arthur stopped himself, as he was unable to find it. He twisted and turned the shirt every which way, but there was no tear. Glaring at Merlin he exclaimed indignantly "You cheated!"

"No, I didn't" countered Merlin.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I di-" catching the thrown shirt with his face Merlin only thought 'at least he didn't ask why I was late.'

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><p><em>Some time later <em>

After completing an atrocious amount of chores Merlin joined Arthur on the training grounds, occasionally handing the knights weapons or water, but basically he just sat on the sidelines and watched them thrashing each other. Among the knights was Sir Leon, who now also knew Merlin's secret. Other than Tristan he had accepted his prince's decision to hide him and has on several occasions asked for Merlin's advice concerning magical threats. Merlin had soon discovered that he wasn't the prince's right hand for nothing. Leon was quick-witted, a good fighter and had a keen sense for justice, which did allow him to see the magical community in a different, better light since Merlin told him a little about them.

Whereas Tristan was a spineless git, who would do anything to promote his own cause, even now he kept glaring at Merlin. The attention apparently made Merlin even more clumsy than usual, nearly every second step he stumbled over his own feet. Also, he was getting a bad headache, which was very strange as he never got those.

Shortly before the training ended Merlin saw Tristan scowling and fumbling with something in his pocket. With a frown he watched as Tristan gave up his training and stormed towards the castle, passed Merlin. The moment he went by, Merlin's headache intensified a hundredfold and shortly after he felt a spike of his magic break free. One of the water jugs next to him exploded spontaneously and drew the attention of every knight in the vicinity, except for Sir Tristan who was too far gone. Fortunately only Arthur had been looking his way at that moment and the prince's eyes widened comically.

"Uh sorry, I… I f-fell." Stuttered Merlin apologetically, eyes wide with alarm. Most of the onlookers laughed at his expense and turned back to their training. Only Sir Leon and Arthur kept looking at him, and after a few minutes Arthur stalked over with the pretence of wanting some water.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Arthur hissed.

Still shaken Merlin rubbed his temples and whispered back "I d-don't know; I didn't do that." Seeing Arthur's retort coming he continued "Not on purpose anyway, I don't know..I..my head hurts."

Upon hearing Merlin's explanation Arthur was clearly worried, contemplating what to do he hurriedly said "Okay, you go back to Gaius and find out what's going on, before you do _that_ again in front of an audience." Arthur then walked back to his knights and seemingly unconcerned made a joke about his clumsy oaf of a servant.

All the while, Merlin cleaned the mess and then ran back to the citadel, to find his guardian and consult his book.


	3. Chapter 3

**And here comes the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy it (sorry for any mistakes unbeta'd =) )**

**And thanks for all the reviews/alerts :D **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything..**

**Chapter 2**

In the court physician's chambers all was quiet. The old man himself was currently brewing potions and thinking about his accident and disaster prone ward. Hardly a day went by without a new catastrophe, magic or otherwise, it was sheer wonder that everything had be so calm in the past few days. Hopefully that meant life was quieting down a bi-

Naturally before he'd even finished that thought the door burst open loudly and Merlin, his 'foster' son rushed in, looking completely distraught. After hurriedly closing the door he turned and practically shouted at Gaius "I used magic in front of nearly all the knights."

Without waiting for anything else Gaius exploded "How could you be so stupid! Do you have a death-wis-." Seeing Merlin's expression, which was basically screaming 'Really now' he stopped mid-rant, coughed uncomfortably and said "Go on…"

"Okay, so I was just standing there, slacking of- I mean working hard like usual and suddenly I got this horrible, strange headache. Then it got even worse and _bam_ my magic unleashed itself, pulverizing the jug next to me. The only good thing about the whole ordeal is that Sir Tristan, who by the way needs a serious aggression therapy, had already left before it happened."

Frowning Gaius questioned "And you're sure you didn't do it unconsciously?"

"Yes, pretty sure, I just lost control entirely."

"What about that headache, you still have it?"

Looking confused Merlin slowly raised his right hand to his head, before shaking it in reply "No, it's…gone."

Raising his signature eyebrow Gaius contemplated what his ward had told him and considering everything he knew, he still wasn't able to come up with anything. Considering Merlin's unique case that wasn't very surprising, but it still was frustrating. Even with all his experience he knew so little…

"-at should I do?" Merlin looked at him expectantly, apparently he'd been talking the entire time, his guardian however had been too occupied with his own thoughts. In order to cover his spacing out and as a general answer he got up to grab several books from the shelf, demonstratively dropped them on the table with a loud _thud_ and settled down to do research.

"Noo, not _again_…" groaning as if in great pain Merlin sat down opposite of Gaius and reluctantly took one of the heavy, old tomes to read through.

_Half an hour later_

"Uhm, what exactly am I looking for again?" Merlin whined impatiently, god he'd so had enough of inhaling decade old book-dust.

"References to magical headaches, why they occur, what triggers them and naturally how we can stop them." Without even raising his gaze, he continued "Oh and make sure to also include anything that could unleash someone's magic without their conscious or unconscious consent." sighing in defeat Merlin returned to his reading.

Another _long_ while later the chamber doors banged open once again, only this time Arthur and Sir Leon hurried into the room.

Ignoring his servant completely the blonde turned to the physician and asked expectantly "Have you figured out what's wrong yet?"

"Unfortunately no, Sire. I have never heard of anything like this before, while there are some known reasons why a sorcerer's magic could be released, against his will, nothing seems to fit Merlin's situation. He's not coming of age and consequently losing control due to the gained additional power. He has not recently killed another sorcerer and absorbed his or her magic intentionally, which he wouldn't need to do anyway. And all the magical devices I found, which were used to release or control enemies' powers, are also unlikely as they are very subtle, and certainly not causing headaches. Plus they're mostly lost or destroyed."

A little overwhelmed with all the information Arthur only nodded with a grave expression and cautiously replied "So, basically you have no idea yet?" shaking his head in reply Gaius said, while gesturing to the still huge pile of unread books "But you're welcome to join us in looking."

Wide-eyed Arthur took several steps back, clearly horrified by the sheer idea of having to participate in doing research yet again. "Ah, I just remembered I have to- to…uhm" Sir Leon jumped in helpfully "Do a surprise inspection of the knights and guards quarters as well as their weaponry."

"That's it." Snapping his fingers the blonde smiled in relief and quickly started toward the exit. "Sir Leon, let's go." Nodding enthusiastically Leon quickly followed his prince out, sparing an apologetic glance in Merlin direction, before he hastily shut the door and left.

"You know I just remembered I have t-" Merlin started hopefully, but Gaius interrupted him mercilessly and said "Keep reading." Groaning dejectedly the raven-haired man grabbed the next book and rekindled his efforts in finding a solution.

.

.

Some very boring hours later

Having yet another murder-headache, which was entirely unrelated to the one before, Merlin closed the last one of the books.

"So, I guess we can now safely assume it's not in the books." He exclaimed with false cheer. Rubbing his burning eyes Gaius agreed tiredly "Yes, it would appear so." Standing up he continued "Then for now, you'll just have to be careful that you don't do magic in front of the king, the knights, the servants, the nob- well anyone actually, except for Arthur, Sir Leon and me. Which means the _second_ you get a headache you run to Arthur's or my chambers or wherever else no one's around to witness anything. Okay?"

"Right, got it and hey who says that that wasn't just a one-time thing. Maybe we're just being too paranoid… Anyway I got to go and bring Arthur his diner." Waving at his guardian he exited the room and went to the kitchens, temporarily setting aside the matter.

Gaius, however, remained in his chambers and after a moment started to re-read some of the books. While he really wanted to believe that Merlin was right with his assumption, there was something nagging at him. He felt as if he was overlooking something.

If only he knew what…

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><p><strong>Review please =) tell me what you thought<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait _again,_ and for the shortness of the ch, but I'm a little busy at the mo and don't have time for more, I hope this chapter turned out better than i think and there are not too many mistakes...´(thankfully I realised in time that Morgana can't actually be in the castle as it's set past season 2 ^^oops..)**

**Thanks for all the reviews and enjoy! **

**Chapter 3**

Several days went by and nothing too exciting happened; no strange headaches and no magical outbursts, well most of the time anyway…

One day, for example, he had been walking down a corridor, chatting with Gwen, when suddenly he'd felt as if he was being watched by someone from afar. He'd subtly looked around, but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, however, just then, he'd felt the beginnings of a headache, much like the first time. Panicked he'd stumbled some excuse to Gwen and ran all the way to Arthur's chambers to lock himself in, only to have it subside as if it'd never even been there.

Later on he wasn't sure anymore if he hadn't just imagined the whole thing. Another time he'd been polishing Arthur's armour in the weapons room, when Sir Tristan walked in. At first they'd gone about their usual exchange of suspicious looks and scowls, but then Merlin had noticed that small ache again, working its way up to something stronger.

That time he shortly suspected that Tristan was responsible for his headaches, but he had to dismiss the ridiculous idea as quickly, because even after the knight had left the pain remained. And Tristan was too busy sulking anyway, (plus Merlin doubted that he would be smart enough to actually plan something like this…)

Curiously enough it had stopped as soon as he'd left the armoury, realising that Merlin had walked in and out of the door repeatedly, to ascertain his theory. However, before he could finish his 'investigation' another knight had spotted him and looked at him as if he'd gone completely bonkers. Smiling sheepishly he'd left hurriedly, planning to return later.

The thorough search, which he conducted that very evening, didn't bring the wished results either, and since then no aches had occurred in the room.

Not wanting to alarm the others Merlin had kept those events to himself and not knowing when it was going to happen again he was left constantly on edge.

* * *

><p>At present, Merlin was tending to Uther and Arthur in the dining hall, serving their meal. While the royals were eating and chatting about this and that, Merlin did his best to remain calm and get this evening over with. All day he'd had a bad feeling, he didn't know why, but it was similar to what he'd felt the morning before this whole thing had started and it left him uneasy.<p>

Then halfway through the meal the doors banged open and Sir Tristan walked in, much to Merlin's and Arthur's dismay. Apparently Uther had sent him on a scouting mission and the knight had discovered something so important that he felt it was necessary to interrupt the king's meal with his report.

So for the next half hour he kept rambling on about a probable druid camp, which may or may not be situated close the borders of Camelot. Several times during his talk Uther interrupted him and very obviously dismissed him by pointing out that he would make sure to send someone else to ascertain the knight's claim, but Tristan simply ignored it and went on endlessly.

Merlin was so busy being annoyed that at first he missed his predicament, well that was until Arthur's knife flew across the room by itself. The two startled nobles turned to stare at the offending object and then Uther turned to Arthur, clearly expecting an explanation.

Arthur, who quickly realised what had happened, hid his own surprise and feebly declared "It wasn't sharp anymore." which sounded more like a question than an answer.

Uther looked a little put out, but after a moment he returned his attention to the still present, talking knight. Merlin in the meantime was doing his best to keep control of his magic, actively fighting the foreign force that tried to take over.

A few moments later the persistent knight started to look pained, but kept going for another five minutes, before he suddenly excused himself and hurried out. The doors had barely shut behind him, when Merlin felt the pressure vanish from his body, he sighed in relief and promptly collapsed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

While Uther only gazed down at him for split second before returning to his plate, Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation, got up slowly and with a "If you'll excuse me for a moment." he bent down to pick up his servant, threw him over his shoulder and carried him out of the room, heading for Gaius' workroom.

**Review? =) pls**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, took me a while to write this chapter, cause I wasn't quite sure how to, but I'm quite happy with the result...it is short again but I think it's a good place to stop, plus I'll try to write the next one today and post it lateron! Sorry for any mistakes still unbeta'd and I hope you'll enjoy it. **

**Thanks for your reviews, alerts and favourites! =)**

**Chapter 4**

Merlin woke up and like so many times in the morning he jumped out of bed hastily, driven by the knowledge that he was late. While contemplating why Gaius hadn't woken him up like usual, he instinctively reached for his clothes, only to discover that he was already dressed.

'Strange' he thought, before shrugging it off as unimportant, he'd probably just fallen asleep with his clothes on. Then like every day Merlin left his room and stepped into Gaius' chambers…or not.

Confused Merlin stopped in mid-step and looked around, he certainly wasn't where he was supposed to be. There was no table littered with potions, no bookshelves and no Gaius, instead he now stood in a giant room. All over the floor and halfway up the walls ran intricate patterns of runes, much like he had seen in various books about the old religion. But at the same time contradicting the presence of the runes were the designs on the ceiling, which was painted with signs Merlin had never seen before, and yet he was sure he should know all of them. The strange lines and helices were also covering the walls, starting from the top; however, they didn't connect with the runes everywhere. There was a gap in between at some places, as if the two sides hadn't quite found themselves yet…

The moment he thought that, Merlin rolled his eyes exasperatedly and swore to himself he wouldn't spend that much time with the dragon in future.

Other than the patterns he could see nothing else that was mentionable, actually the room would be rather bland weren't it for them. No furniture, no crests and no peopl-.

"…rong with him this time? You kno -r him being that great wa- he passes out awf- ften." Shocked by the sudden sound of the familiar voice Merlin spun around to face it only to stare at thin air. Frowning he turned every which way to pinpoint its source and found absolutely nothing. He could have sworn it was Arthur, who was talking about him, but it was neither clear nor did it happen again. Frustrated he gave up listening after a while and decided to find out where he was and how to get out of there, and then he could worry about Arthur.

"There's no need to worry, he's safe." Startled for a second time Merlin whirled around to face… himself. Wide-eyed he stared at his counterpart, who was an exact copy of him, right down to the red neckerchief, the only visible difference being the bright golden eyes.

Gaping Merlin stumbled "Who..what..how?" The other one only smiled happily and said "I'm sorry for scaring you, but I thought this form would be best for talking to you. As for who I am, you already know. And how, well I created this room and brought you here when you collapsed because of me."

"Because of you, but I thought...I mean I think you're an embodiment of my magic, aren't you? So why would you cause me to faint? Wait, the headaches they're your fault?"

"Yes and no. But first, there's not really a me and you in the conventional sense, more like an us. I am simply representing another part of you, which you haven't yet fully discovered."

Merlin interjected understanding at once "The designs."

"Yes, they are a representation of our bond and the progress we make in becoming one entity, the old and the new... Anyway, as for the headaches, you could say I caused them. Something is in the castle that shouldn't be there, and when it comes too close it tries to sever our connection and take over. To prevent that we instinctively fight back or rather I do as you can't do it yourself, because the first thing it does is to close off our 'communication' ties. You wouldn't even know it was there weren't it for the pain and -"

"-most sorcerers don't get headaches, because it usually is a subtle method and doesn't alert the user." Finishing the explanation himself Merlin sighed heavily. How could he have been so stupid? The moment Gaius had talked about the devices, which can control or unleash someone's magic without their consent; he should have made the connection. Of course he wouldn't react like other sorcerers and everything that was certain for others nearly never applied to him. His magic reacted for him, and because of their bond he'd felt the strain of the fight.

Then something else occurred to him, who had the device and more important where the hell had he found it in the first place. Just as he was about to ask his counterpart said "You already know." and listening to something he continued "It's time to wake up now."

"But-" Merlin still had so many questions, concerning his magic and this was maybe his only chance to ask, however, before he could finish the room started to dim and he could only hear a distant "All your questions will be answered in good time."

Then just before the room vanished altogether Merlin could have sworn he saw a small dragon walking up to his magic and twirl itself around the man. And _poof_ they were both gone…


	6. Chapter 6

**Little later than promised, here's the next chapter..hope you'll like it! (Unbeta'd sorry for any mistakes) =D**

**Discl.: Don't own Merlin. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

While Gaius was fuzzing over his ward, who was still out of it, and Arthur returned to his dinner, Tristan fumed. How could his scheme have gone wrong again? He had considered everything, had planned carefully and prepared for every contingency, but he'd still failed. And all because of that stupid servant who never did what he was supposed to.

And this useless piece of garbage he'd acquired for a lot of gold wasn't working either. Sure today it had at least shown some effectiveness, when Arthur's knife had moved by itself, but that annoying prince had covered for the sorcerer and once again ruined everything.

No matter, he would simply have to try again, but before that he would visit an old acquaintance… Smirking maliciously Tristan quickly bandaged the spot, where the thing had burned his skin, and then rushed off to prepare Plan B.

* * *

><p>Back in the physician's quarters Gaius was pacing, for hours now he'd been waiting for his ward to wake up. He'd already tried everything he could think of to rouse him, but nothing had worked so far. Deciding that it wouldn't be the best idea to force more potions down his throat, he'd settled on brewing his concoctions. However, soon after he'd started he gave up, as he just wasn't able to concentrate properly, not knowing what had happened to Merlin this time. Honestly that boy was a living catastrophe.<p>

Throwing another routine glance at Merlin Gaius nearly missed the boy's movement that was until his eyes snapped open all of a sudden. The physician hurried over to his side and asked "Merlin, are you alright? You've been unconscious for quite some time."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had the oddest experience." So, the next couple of minutes he relayed what had happened to his mentor. Throughout the entire thing Gaius' eyebrow kept climbing higher and higher, and afterwards he only said "I must say I'm not really surprised. We should always expect the impossible with you."

Grinning sheepishly Merlin nodded, got out of bed and promptly headed for the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Already halfway out the door the young warlock turned to look at Gaius and replied "Getting rid of a nuisance." And with that cryptic statement he left and closed the door behind him.

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><p>On his way through the castle Merlin met several servants, who asked after his health. He actually lost quite some time, because he had to reassure them that he was fine and more importantly had nothing contagious. When he finally reached the knight's rooms it was already very late. Walking up to Tristan's chamber he took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.<p>

Then without further ado he flung the door open...well more like opened it very slowly and peered in cautiously. 'Oh thank God.' Merlin thought upon realising that the room was empty. That was at least one problem less. Once again checking that the coast was clear he slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

For the next half an hour Merlin frisked the Tristan's entire room, from ceiling to floor he searched everything. He emptied the cupboard, looked under the bed and even checked for hidden compartments beneath the floor board, and still he found nothing useful. Sure he discovered a scroll filled with half-arsed strategies, all of which ended with his own untimely death, but none of them fit the current happenings. And judging from the fact that they were all absolutely ridiculous he guessed that they were Tristan's first attempts at scheming.

Why couldn't this be easy just once? Frustrated Merlin carefully put everything back where it belonged and returned to his own chambers to get at least some sleep before he had to slave after Arthur again.

* * *

><p>On the next morning Merlin got up late as usual and went to the prince's room to wake him, however, he soon realised that something wasn't like always. First of all, Arthur was already awake and dressed properly, which he never managed to do on his own. Moreover the room was unusually clean and Merlin was pretty sure it wasn't Arthur's doing.<p>

Confused the manservant was about to ask for an explanation as Arthur turned around and spotted him. "_Mer_lin? What are you doing here?"

"Uhm…working?." At this point his answer sounded more like a question, because he'd just spotted one of the other servants, who was currently doing his job.

"No, you're not." Dismissing the other servant for now, Arthur sat down to eat his breakfast.

"Yes I-" snapping his mouth shut Merlin quickly backed down, before he could say anything stupid, and accepted Arthur's order, dreaming about the things he could do on his unexpected day off. Snapping out of his thoughts he only added "Alright, I'll be going then." Not waiting for a reply he headed for the door.

"_Mer_lin." The blonde called after him slightly annoyed.

"Yah?" hoping that Arthur hadn't changed his mind suddenly he turned to face him, only a few steps away from the door.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What did you want? I told Gaius yesterday that I wouldn't require your services today, which means that you came here for something else."

"Oh, uhm right I just uh wanted to tell you that…Sir Tristan is the one responsible for my headaches. I think he has acquired an ancient device and with its help tries to out me."

With a heavy sigh Arthur leaned back in his chair "You know what I find strange, Merlin? All of these devices are supposed to be destroyed, lost or hidden and yet every other month one crops up out of nowhere. Let's just hope this is the last one that mysteriously resurfaced after countless years." Having said all he wanted the prince waved Merlin off, who was happy to comply.

Maybe just this once he'd get to spend a nice day off without any interruptions…


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, first I'm soo sorry for the ridiculously long pause between chapters, but it was quite difficult to come up with something passable for this chapter and I'm still not happy...Anyway, the next chapter will probably also take longer cause I have quite a few exams coming up, but after th 30th Jan. I'll continue writing immediately! **

**Sorry for any mistakes (Unbeta'd!) hope there aren't too many **

**Thanks for your reviews! I really appreciate the feedback. Pls tell me if you like this chapter or not, without comments I won't know if I should change it! Thanks again and...**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Merlin enjoyed his free day immensely. He took a stroll through the market and bought some new ingredients for Gaius' remedies. Then he used the time to learn some new spells and after dinner he went to sleep early…

'_Yeah, right,'_ thought Merlin dejectedly, having been rudely awakened from his daydreaming, _'as if that would ever happen, day off my ass."_

In reality, Merlin had just crossed the courtyard in front of the castle on his way to the market, when a shoe hit him on the back of his head. He stopped dead in his tracks and fearing the worst he slowly turned around to face the thrower.

"You there, servant, I've given you an order," barked an irritated knight. Apparently he had already spoken to Merlin, without the raven-head noticing it. Rolling his eyes in annoyance Merlin decided to sacrifice a few precious minutes of his leisure time to explain to the thick guy that he was not working today. Great, now he would start his day off arguing with a knight.

Unfortunately for him the other didn't even give him a chance to say anything. A myriad of shouted orders later the knight rushed off and left the servant with no other choice, but to do as he was told. It was quite plain to see that the knight was new in Camelot and didn't yet know that Merlin was the Prince's manservant.

Judging from his appearance he'd just arrived, his exhausted horse still standing where his master had left it. The knight had looked quite bland, dark hair, brown eyes and not really muscular. He didn't wear the colours of Camelot, which indicated that he had not yet passed Arthur's test. But anyway, who cared about that when Merlin was stuck having to work on his free day?

…

What felt like hours later Merlin finally completed the last task and hurried to his chambers, to get at least some rest. Little did he know that his bad luck would continue still.

Shortly before he entered a corridor leading to his chambers he spotted Sir Tristan, who was sneaking out of the citadel. And Merlin, being Merlin, sighed in defeat, forgot about his plans and hurried after the scheming knight.

Once again he was thankful for all the stealth practice he had gotten from spying on the bad guys. Of course he still stumbled or tripped over thin air, but he'd gotten much better, in his opinion anyway... Glancing around the street-corner to check that Tristan wasn't aware of his follower Merlin waited till the other was a little farther away, before he followed him again. This continued for another half an hour until Tristan finally stopped in front of an abandoned building. After checking that the coast was clear he entered the house and disappeared in its depths.

Contemplating what do to next Merlin regarded his surroundings for the first time in a while. They had long ago left the nice parts of the lower town behind and entered a rundown, nearly abandoned area, which was supposed to be renovated soon.

His observation told him two things. First, he didn't really had to bother with hiding, as nobody was around to spot him and second if something bad were to happen, there would not be any help. For a moment Merlin considered going back to the castle and alerting Arthur or Leon, but in the end he decided not to, because he was afraid Tristan would disappear till they would return here.

'Ok Merlin, don't worry. You can do this, you've done this a hundred times...and only about half of them you were busted-so good odds.' Reassuring himself one last time the warlock gathered his courage and entered the gloomy-looking house.

Slowly and carefully aware of every footstep he moved towards the backside of the house, where he could just barely make out the light of a candle.

"-sn't working. I want my gold back." echoed the knight's voice in the corridor.

"No, no 'tis working, I tested it myself, yes yes Monda did," answered another voice.

"Then you didn't test it well enough. I tried for days; putting it close to him, even exposing him for an hour once. You're right it does something...it gives the bastard a head-ache, but nothing more. The dumb thing even burnt me. It's supposed to hurt _him_not me."

Intrigued Merlin tiptoed forward to sneak a peak at the people in the room. At first he could only make out Tristan, but then he spotted the other guy. And boy was he ugly! His appearance alone would have made Merlin wary if he'd met him on the street, but in this setting he looked even more like the ideal scoundrel. Dirty, unkempt hair, ripped clothing and missing more than one tooth.

In the meantime their conversation had continued, with Tristan insisting on negating the trade and the other trying to convince him of the effectiveness of his goods. Until finally Tristan snapped.

"Fine. Keep the gold, but I want something else in return. You'll go to the physician's quarters an-"

Unfortunately that was the moment Merlin lost his grip on the doorframe and subsequently stepped on a creaking floorboard. Cringing mentally the young warlock only thought -'busted' before he turned tail and ran for his life.

The moment he left the house he randomly chose one of the small alleys and kept running. In retrospect, it probably hadn't been his smartest idea to race into the opposite direction of the citadel, but well he always had had a bad sense of orientation. Absorbed in his thoughts and general panic Merlin rounded a corner and was met by a fist. He fell to the ground hard and without a chance to react he was knocked out.

Seconds before the darkness consumed him, Merlin heard the rascal say-"Bad bad, 'tis him. So dead, so dead…"


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter, hope you'll like it and thanks for the reviews! Sorry for any mistakes and also for the delay! =D **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter 8**

Hours later Tristan returned to the castle with a satisfied smirk on his face. Finally something had worked out in his favour. Noting the time the knight decided to retire to his chambers right away. However, the moment he entered his room, he realised that something wasn't right and turning around he spotted a dark figure leaning against the wall. Slowly, trying to avoid exposing his movement Tristan reached for his sword, but before he could grasp it the intruder spoke, "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

Tristan recognised that voice immediately and smiled slightly before answering, with a stern voice, "Normally my _friends_ don't break in and hide in dark corners. They await my return and ask for permission to enter."

Still shrouded in darkness the man only scoffed and stated dryly, "And where would be the fun in that?" Finally abandoning his displeased frown Tristan laughed and rushed forward to greet his old friend properly. A manly hug later the two returned to standing apart.

"It's good to see you, Eiric. And not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here," questioned Tristan.

Raising an eyebrow Eiric looked at the other bemusedly for a moment until he said, "Are you saying that you summoned me and you can't even remember? Please tell me I didn't make this trip in vain." Now, that Tristan thought about it he remembered that Eiric had moved all the way across the kingdom to escape Uther's immediate sphere of influence. He'd never wanted to become a knight; he'd always insisted that they died way too fast. Absorbed in his musings he forgot to reply for a moment and Eiric impatient as ever snapped his fingers in front of his face to reclaim his attention.

"Helloo, someone in there? Now, tell me you haven't gotten rid of your problem already."

"Uhm, actually-" Tristan started, and just as he was about to claim that his problem was solved, he thought of something else that needed to be taken care of. "That is, I still got something for you to do..."

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><p><em>The next morning<em>

"_Merlin_," bellowed Arthur shortly before he entered the physician's quarters -"I gave you one day off not more, you lazy sod. So, get your ars-" subjected to Gaius' disapproving stare, who he had thought would already be making his rounds, Arthur interrupted himself and sheepishly continued -"but then again I'm sure you're still not feeling …well, so I'll just come back later." Just like that he promptly turned and headed for the door.

"Arthur, wait," and with a speed defying his old age Gaius rushed to intercept the prince-"I thought he was with you."

"Who," Arthur asked bemused.

"Merlin, of course," exclaimed the physician. Honestly, sometimes Arthur surely was slow. Thank god for his near endless patience, because without it he would have swatted the prince on the head a long time ago.

"Oh, yeah right sorry, no I told him to get some rest and return to his duties today. The last time I saw him was yesterday morning."

Frowning and increasingly worried Gaius stated, "He never came back yesterday, I just thought you had changed your mind and given him chores to complete. He often comes home very late…" trailing off he looked at Arthur accusingly. The prince, who was of the opinion that Merlin didn't work all that much, especially now since he used his magic to finish most of it, countered with the only reasonable explanation he could think of.

"Should we check the tav- ow" This time Gaius did hit him round the head and judging from his scolding look he was prepared to do it again, should the prince dare suggest something similar. Getting the message Arthur abandoned his other ideas and asked in a peeved tone- "so, if he isn't with me and not in here either, where the hell is he?"

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere close to Camelot<em>

Merlin opened his eyes slowly and looked around blearily, not quite able to see right away. God, he was so sick of being knocked out. His head hurt like hell and so did nearly every other part of his body, which was a little odd now that he thought about it. Blinking rapidly several times solved the problem with his eyes and he was finally able to assess his situation. And it didn't look good. He nearly wished he'd still be unconscious, at least then he wouldn't have to find himself in yet another crappy situation. But hey, now he knew why he hurt all over, that had to be something right?

He was strung up between two trees, his feet barely touching the ground, his arms were carrying most of his weight and it felt like his shoulders were about to dislocate. If that wasn't enough his intestines were positively on fire. Why? He'd no idea.

Also, he seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, which was never good. All he could see were trees, lots and lots of trees. Oh, and the crazy guy hopping around the clearing. Wait, crazy guy? Just like that Merlin's memories came rushing back, how he'd followed Tristan and seen him with this guy in the abandoned house. And of course how he'd run for his life and ended up being caught anyway. His sneaking skills really sucked. Maybe he should just work on his escape skills instead, that at least would save him all the possible torture and pain.

But for now, he should probably start working on freeing his arms before he could even think about running. He subtly tested the tightness of the bonds by tensing his arms, but he soon discovered that they were too tight to simply slip his hands trough. In addition, the fact that he could barely stand upright complicated his position even more. If he could just relieve the pressure on his arms, then he would likely be able to...oh to hell with it. He'd just have to use magic.

Sneaking another look at his captor, he was relieved to see that the man was still unaware of the fact that he was awake. But just in case, he closed his eyes to hide their usual golden hue, before he directed his magic to do his bidding and- nothing. Doing his best not to panic Merlin tried again and again, but still nothing happened, unless you counted the increasing pain in his intestines.

"Stop," screamed a shrill voice from across the clearing, shortly before the other man appeared right in front of him. "'Twill not work," and holding up his hand he showed Merlin a red-glowing stone, which shook under some unseen pressure. Looking from Merlin to the stone and back, the rascal narrowed his eyes and mused, "'tis working, took long hours, but works, but 'tis dangerous...will explode. What to do, what to do?"

"How about you just let me go and we forget this ever happened," suggested Merlin hopefully. His captor nodded and then promptly shook his head, "no, too late for that."

"So, what are you going to do- to me?" Merlin asked uneasily. As an answer the rascal only turned around slowly and smirked maliciously.

* * *

><p><strong>Review? pls :D<strong>

**plus what do YOu think is going to happen to poor Merlin? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there, sorry for the delay, I think it's been nearly a month, for which I'm really really sorry, but I just couldn't bring myself to write this chapter...**

**Also, I think I forgot to reply to some of the reviews, though I don't know which ones anymore. So, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope you'll like this chapter as well! **

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 8**

It was well into the night, when Merlin's captor finally left his side to prepare whatever he had planned for the warlock. Unfortunately, the deranged man was smart enough to leave the strange stone that took away his magic behind. Merlin only waited for a few moments, till he was sure that the man had really gone, before he renewed his efforts to break free of his bonds.

He struggled for what felt like hours, but to no avail. The ropes didn't even give an inch, enchanted as they were. Sighing in defeat Merlin stopped fighting and glared at the glowing stone with dismay. If only that cursed device would blow up already...

Realising that he was well and truly stuck for now Merlin resigned himself to an uncomfortable and sleepless night. Time went by slowly and Merlin watched his surroundings in utter boredom... Here he was literally hanging around, with no chance to escape and nothing to keep his mind occupied. _Just_ _great_.

Immersed in his own depressing thoughts he completely missed the brightening glow of the stone, but he did feel the sudden drowsiness that overcame him. Unable to fight it off Merlin succumbed to sleep.

_Darkness_.

It was all around him. There was no light, no escape from its depths. But then again what did he have to escape from. He was oddly at peace right there in the inky blackness that surrounded him. He didn't actually know or understand what had happened to him, however he did know that there was nothing to be afraid of. Also, he had the feeling that wherever he was, he'd been there before. Then Merlin felt a tentative tuck at his hand, which drew him into a specific direction.

As he'd expected he still saw nothing, but he was sure that something was waiting for him over there. He moved forward by merely concentrating on the way he wanted to go and several moments later he saw a bright light. And then finally he felt another presence, one he knew very well...

"You look terrible," stated Merlin succinctly. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

"Don't worry, it's hardly your fault," replied an exact replica of the warlock, the only difference being the golden eyes. "But it would be best if we left this place now."

"Yeah, but that could be a bit difficult...In case you haven't noticed, we're strung up between two trees and I have no means to escape. So, please tell me you have an idea, cause I'm all out."

"I do, but it will _hurt_." While they were talking the surrounding darkness seemed to thicken even more and the gold in his counterparts eyes were slowly invaded by black veins.

"You as much as me I'm afraid." He paused for a minute and shook his head minutely.

"I grow weaker by the second, we have to hurry. I will move us as close to the castle as I can without killing us, you'll have to run the rest of the way. And you won't be able to use me, to use magic for several hours. Maybe even days, I cannot say how severe the damage will be. So, please don't get yourself caught again. We can only hope that the madman doesn't return any time soon."

He barely finished his sentence before Merlin experienced an overwhelming feeling of pain. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to flee the sensation, but to no avail. Shortly after he lost consciousness.

...

When he opened his eyes again, the pain was still there, though it was reduced to a dull throb in the back of his head. The next thing he realised was that he was lying on the forest floor in broad daylight.

'Oh no, Merlin thought dejectedly, once he realised that he'd already lost a lot of precious time. Ignoring the insistent pain he struggled to his feet and staggered into the direction of the castle, which he could just make out in the distance. With every step more pain blossomed in his head and body, but he kept walking. He could still hear his magic telling him that this was his only chance to escape and he wasn't planning on losing it.

At the same time deep within he felt empty, as he'd never had before. His rational mind supplied him with the knowledge that it was his depleted magic that created that feeling. And that it would come back to him in time, but that was no relief for him right now. He was - alone and incomplete.

Lost in a world of pain, both physical and mental, Merlin ran for Camelot.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Camelot Sir Leon was walking through the castle towards the prince's chambers. The knight's morning training was already over and Arthur hadn't joined them like usual. Not one to miss the chance to spar, Leon concluded that the prince had either been kept by his father or that something magical was up<em>, again<em>. As he'd already seen the king in the council chambers, who was apparently unaware of his son's whereabouts, Leon had decided to check on the blonde in his chambers.

He knew of course that it was most likely nothing, but still he'd make sure that Arthur was alright. He may be a bit paranoid, where Arthur's safety was concerned, but he'd long ago realised that it was better to follow his instincts. There had been too many, thankfully failed, attempts on his Sire's life in the last few years to become careless.

"Sir Leon!" a man's voice shouted.

Annoyed that his 'quest' was interrupted Leon turned around to face the speaker. The man proved to be a stranger, however, his clothes indicated that he was noble.

"Yes?" answered Leon succinctly.

Walking the rest of the way towards Leon the man stopped in front of him and smiled triumphantly.

"I knew it was you! I'm Sir Eiric, it's such an honour to meet you. I've heard so much about you," he said excitedly.

Not really impressed, Leon smiled politely and made to leave, but Eiric just went on talking, as if he didn't notice.

"They say you're the best knight in all of Camelot, except the prince of course, but he doesn't really count, does he? Anyway, uh would you mind sparing with me? I'm planning to become a knight of Camelot and I'd really like to know how much I still have to learn."

Not really in the mood Leon was about to decline, when he saw the pleading look on the younger man's face. Sighing internally he admitted to himself that he couldn't crush the others hopes. So, instead of walking away, he accepted reluctantly and led the way back to the training fields, completely unaware of the smirk that crossed his 'admirers' face.

* * *

><p>From behind a column Tristan looked on as his friend talked to Sir Leon, before the both of them walked away. He had to admit, it had been a brilliant idea to summon Eiric. Thanks to him he'd finally gotten rid of Sir Leon, at least for a little while. And that was all he needed for now. It was time to fulfil his part of the plan. Smirking evilly Tristan continued his path towards Arthur's chambers.<p>

Little did he know that he was being watched as well...


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delay, but now holidays are approaching and I'll do my best to finish the story soon! Thanks for the reviews and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well. (Sorry for any mistakes!)**

**Disclaimer: Merlin doesn't belong to me...sadly =*(**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter 9**

_'I'm too old for this,'_ Gaius thought as he stealth-walked through the castle, on the trail of Tristan. Luckily for him no one really questioned his rather odd behaviour. They probably thought he was going senile. But no matter, he was worried and had every right, as Merlin's guardian, to stalk his possible aggressor and additionally Tristan was behaving rather suspiciously himself.

First he'd watched Sir Leon and the newest knight in spe and now he was sneaking through the castle. And what made it all the more alarming, was that he was heading towards the nobles wing, where he had absolutely no business to be. So why was he headed there?

Also, he was checking his back every other minute, forcing Gaius to quickly hide behind columns or in alcoves. Thank the gods he'd at least learned a few new tricks from his charge. He was nearly as adept at following people as Merlin, huh who was he kidding? He was better than Merlin, at least he didn't stumble every other step or blow his cover by making some unnecessary noises. He really should consider teaching Merlin a little stealth, instead of medicine, for which he had absolutely no aptitude.

Again struck by the insanity of his endeavour Gaius rung with himself. And then just as he was about to give up following the cretin, Tristan took a turn which would take him directly to...

'_oh-oh I should have gotten some guards to come along_.' Gaius thought worriedly.

However, he realised that it was too late for that now, as Tristan disappeared inside the prince's quarters. Not sure if he should follow, get help or stay where he was, Gaius decided on the latter. Hopefully Arthur was prepared for the worst. Under normal circumstances Gaius would think that it was an easy feat for the prince to defeat any opponent, who didn't have magic, but this time he wasn't that confident. Especially considering his track record with foes who used magic or had ties to it.

And true to his musings the physician watched in shock as the devious knight dragged Arthur out of his chambers...unconscious. _Seriously_. Arthur was overpowered that fast? What the hell had happened to make Arthur that helpless? Sure, he didn't really have a defence against magical attacks, but as far as he knew, Tristan didn't have any powers. Normally Arthur was quite handy with a sword and had no problem defending himself against a surprise attack.

Sighing heavily Gaius decided that he would have to check the prince's head sometime soon. With all the blows to the head, there had to be some lasting damage. Plus, he really would like to know how _Tristan_ of all people had won that round. Arthur was a trained fighter, the best knight of Camelot, the victor of countless tournaments and battles, while the other was just a mediocre knight at best.

What did it say about Arthur that as soon as his manservant was gone he lost his fights?

Shaking his thoughts off Gaius swiftly turned and, after noting where Tristan was headed, he hurried away to find some guards. Then, just as Gaius rounded the corner a figure stumbled forward and collided with him. Caught off guard Gaius was unable to keep his balance and fell on his back, with the other falling heavilly on top of him. Momentarily having the breath knocked out of him the old physician stayed down and merely waited for the man to get up. However, he waited for a _long_ time, because he didn't move at_ all_.

Worried Gaius peered at the man more closely and upon realising who it was that had fallen on him he exclaimed, "Merlin!" After he got no reaction Gaius carefully pushed his ward off of him and got up to examine him.

"Merlin, can you hear me? Come on, wake up, my boy." The physician softly slapped Merlin to rouse him from his slumber.

"Wah- Wha- Gaius..oh thank god I made it back." Merlin blearily focused on his mentor and sat up with his support.

"What happened to you? I thought the worst when you disappeared _again_." Gaius stated exasperatedly. "You really got to stop scaring me like that."

Merlin only shrugged weakly and answered, "Sorry, I didn't really plan on getting kidnapped, usually my plans work out better than this." Seeing his guardian's eyebrow rise and his expression, which was practically screaming _'really,'_ Merlin hurriedly added.

"They _do_! And anyway, I have to talk to Arthur. Preferably before my captor shows up in Camelot."

"Oh dear," Gaius exclaimed.

"What d'you mean 'oh dear', please tell me there's no reason for an 'oh dear'." Merlin looked at his guardian pleadingly and begged to all the gods that everything was fine. Because right now, he still felt horrible and the pain hadn't receded any. Plus, his magic hadn't returned yet, not even an ounce of it. He really couldn't deal with a problem now. Recognising his wards wary, tired expression Gaius cringed inwardly, before he replied apologetically.

"Actually, it might be an understatement." And so he told Merlin what had transpired only a few moments earlier. The warlock in turn listened closely and his emotions changed from tired to annoyed and finally exasperation as the story progressed.

"Why didn't you stop him then," Merlin exclaimed, obviously annoyed.

At first Gaius only stared at him incredulously, then he replied, "You didn't expect _me_ to run after them, did you? I'm an old man, even if I were able to keep up with Tristan, what was I supposed to do. Throw poultices at him? I doubt that would have worked."

"Sorry," Merlin muttered. "Didn't think that one through." Using his remaining strength he got up slowly and turned into the direction Gaius had pointed out before.

"And where do you think you're going? You're in no state to help either."

"Yeah well, but unlike you I usually don't have a choice.." Just like that Merlin stumbled on, following his destiny.

Gaius, as always in these situations, looked on helplessly and prayed that his surrogate son would return unharmed. Though this time he resolved, Merlin wouldn't stand alone.

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><p><strong>Review? =)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

****I am so sorry about the long pause between chapters! I wasn't really sure if I was even going to continue this, but I decided that I had to, because I hate it when stories I read remain unfinished. Soo here we go. I hope you like it and I'll do my best to write at least another chapter for you today or tomorrow. Sorry for any mistakes it's unbeta'd. :D ****

****.  
><strong>**

**Chapter 11**

_Pain. _

That was the first thing Prince Arthur of Camelot acknowledged upon waking up. Which in truth made absolutely no sense, because the last he remembered, he had been in his chambers, preparing to go to the training field. He'd dropped his glove and had been about to pick it up and then...nothing.

Deciding that it was high-time to find out where he was and what had happened, Arthur slowly opened his eyes. The sudden bright light blinded him for some time, before he was finally able to see properly. Strangely enough he was looking at the sky and apparently he was moving, as his view kept changing. Turning his head further, he realised that he was lying on a wagon, which was moving towards the forest. If that wasn't worrying enough, there were the chains around his hands, which bound him to the vehicle and the sword that appeared suddenly next to his throat.

"Don't move, _Sire_," spat his captor, adding his title mockingly. "We wouldn't want you to lose your head now would we."

"Tristan," Arthur replied with equal contempt.

"That's _Sir_ Tristan," corrected the wayward knight.

"Yeah, sorry..," Arthur shot back sarcastically "I don't really see your knightly qualities right now, because kidnapping your prince certainly isn't one of your duties."

"It is! If said Prince, or should I say traitor, is betraying the king, who is too thick to see it himself."

"You do realise that insulting my father is also treaso-" Flinching Arthur stopped as the damned sword drew blood from a cut on his neck.

"Shut up! I'm the kings faithful servant and I will get what I deserve, my place at his side as advisor, master of arms or even as heir to the throne, once I've gotten rid of you," sneered Tristan.

Before Arthur could endanger his life further by contradicting his captor, the wagon came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the forest. Tristan jumped down and moved to the side, where he stood waiting for something or rather someone. In the meantime, Arthur subtly tried to free himself or at least find something to open the manacles, which proved to be futile. Tristan may be stupid, but he hadn't made the mistake of leaving any weapons in Arthur's vicinity, yet. And in truth the blonde was a bit preoccupied, wondering just how the other had managed to cart the crowned prince out of Camelot, without someone noticing. Talk about security breach. He really had to convince his father to improve castle security. The bad guys get in, the bad guys get out -unharmed- and he got attacked, knocked out, poisoned, enchanted, the list went on and on...where was the justice in that?!

Anyway, his current predicament should be at the forefront of his mind right now. Apparently Tristan was getting bored of waiting for his accomplice and a bored criminal meant either violence or raging speeches. Tristan, of course, never one to disappoint launched into a seemingly endless monologue, shaking his fist angrily in the blondes direction on several occasions and Arthur really _really_ wished someone would knock him out right now.

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><p>Meanwhile, Tristan's accomplice raced through the woods, trying to find his lost prisoner. The unkempt man didn't understand how he had escaped in the first place, but he knew that if he went back to meet his employer empty-handed and without good news, he wouldn't be best pleased. Oh no no. But how could he have foreseen that the little sorcerer would escape his grasp so easily? Not at all.<p>

Maybe he should just leave...yes that was good. He liked that idea. Turning to head in the opposite direction of Camelot Monda waddled off, only to stop after a few paces. He couldn't just go, he had been promised more gold and what if he told the dumb man that he'd killed the sorcerer. It wasn't as if the boy had a big chance of surviving after being under the stone's influence for that long...for all Monda knew he could be lying in a ditch somewhere, dead already. Why should he do without more gold?! Convinced that his reasoning was sound, the rascal grinned in delight and hastened to his (present) master's side.

.

When he finally arrived at the agreed site, he was presented with an odd sight. The handsome prince of Camelot was lying in the back of a wagon, his eyes rolled up as far as they would go and his hands were trying to reach his ears. A fruitless endeavour considering that there were chains around his hands. His employer, on the other hand, was pacing and seemed to be in the middle of a rant.

Unsure if he was better served to wait for him to finish or interrupt, Monda was saved a decision as the prince spotted him.

"Oh thank the gods," exclaimed the blonde relieved, interrupting the knight. "Your henchman, accomplice, whatever is here! So please _please_ stop with the talking."

Tristan whirled around and upon seeing him, barked, "Finally, where have you been? And where is the sorcerer you were supposed to bring him, so that we could use his magic."

"What sorcerer," injected Arthur worriedly, only to be ignored.

Monda remembered his plot and quickly replaced his guilty look with a satisfied smirk. "I am sorry, master, but there were complications and I had to uh kill him."

"WHAT?!" Tristan shouted, "But then, my plan, it's ruined. How am I supposed to attack the castle with the boy's magic if there is no boy? How am I going to return to the king's favour if there is no-" Too worked up to continue Tristan collapsed onto a convenient tree stump and despaired. -Until he remembered that he still had a hostage.

"Unless of course I valiantly save his son's life, that should get me his trust at the least and I can work from there," mused Tristan.

Never able to keep his mouth shut, Arthur muttered cynically, "yeah, because I'm going to tell my father that the idiot knight, who kidnapped me, saved me from- what exactly? His own stupidity?!"

Scowling the knight fished a piece of cloth out of his pocket, unceremoniously shoved it into the prince's mouth and then turned to his accomplice while saying "New plan, we kill the prince, blame the dead sorcerer, which I defeated, after Arthur's unfortunate, untimely death. Any questions. No. Great, let's get to it."

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><p><strong>Review?! please =)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright, here is the next chapter. Thanks for your amazing reviews and I hope you'll like this chapter as well. :D  
><strong>

**(still unbeta'd as usual, sorry for any mistakes.)  
><strong>

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

**Chapter 12**

Delighted by having found the answer to saving his latest scheme, Tristan smirked maliciously and turned his gaze to the restrained prince. He just loved the fact that the normally mighty warrior was at his mercy. He drew his sword slowly, delighted to see the prince's defeated expression, once he glimpsed the naked steel. And however much Tristan wanted to prolong this moment, he knew that time was of the essence. Every minute he waited could proof to be his downfall.

So, in order to execute the first part of his plan, he raised his sword slowly, determined to enjoy this moment for as long as possible, before he let the blade find its intended target. Arthur, who of course saw the blade descending, tensed every muscle of his body, in the foolish hope that the chains would give after all and that he would miraculously survive this attack. Just like he had so often in the past. But unfortunately, there was no secret protector this time around, no warlock to save him and no chance to esca-.

"Wait," squealed someone suddenly. Startled by the voice Tristan jumped back, missed the prince's neck and nearly dropped his sword, because of its momentum. He then slowly turned to face the speaker and barked. "YOU!" He glared at Monda furiously. "WHat is it now? I thought we'd agreed on the plan."

"Yes, yes. we have," The rascal cowered down in fear, and continued hesitantly. "Master, is right, but you said..the plan is to make it look like sorcery. And the sword is not uh sorcery, Master."

For a moment Tristan looked absolutely perplexed, surprised that the madman had realised this when he had not. God, he'd nearly doomed his own plan. Not even the king would accept an ordinary sword wound as witchcraft, how could he have been so stupid? The moment he'd have taken this before the king the evidence would have meant his certain death. Not only would he have been flaunting his sword right before the king's face, he'd have framed a dead servant, who was best known for his mental affliction. No one would buy that. By the gods, he could as well serve his head on a silver platter right away.

While Tristan was cursing his stupidity, Arthur released a shaky sigh of relief. He couldn't really believe his luck, not that he was save yet, but hey he was still alive and someone should come running or rather stumbling to his rescue any minute now...

Having finished his internal ranting Tristan faced his accomplice once more and asked. "Well then, how do you kill a man and make it look like sorcery?" Monda, who was no sorcerer himself, frowned and thought about his favourite ways of killing people. Too bad only that all of them involved sharp objects, visible marks or simply took too long to use in this specific situation. At the end of his rope the rascal babbled, while looking rather disappointed "no sword, no knife, no dagger, no strangling...aha- break his neck...nah tis too normal. Umm, no wounds I think."

Staring at the other incredulously, Tristan shouted once more. "And how in exactly are we going to kill him without leaving any wounds or marks? We don't _actually_ have a sorcerer, thanks to you incompetent fool."

"Poison," whimpered Monda out of the blue, hiding his growing disdain for the knight.

"Poison," Tristan exclaimed triumphantly. "Of course, why didn't I think of that before. Alright, go get it."

"Get what," inquired the startled rascal.

"The poison, you fool."

"Oh, yes yes, Monda will get it, get it he will." Monda answered sweetly, before he quickly hurried off into the forest, only to stop once he was sure the dumb knight couldn't see him anymore. Letting Monda do all the work, what a useless knight, he should have left after all. But oh the gold... no he could get more gold from another fool, and with less work involved. Oh yes, it was time to move on. Checking that he had his precious stone, which he had acquired for the knight, he grinned happily and decided to sell it (again) in another kingdom. There was always someone looking to get rid of magical folk. -Poison pah -now knifes that was better. Smirking Monda resolved to find someone to play, it had been too long. So, after one last look over his shoulder the little vagabond ran off.

It appeared that _Sir_ Tristan would be waiting for his poison for quite a long time, hopefully he wouldn't resort to another monologue in the meantime.

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><p>A little ways down the road a raven haired boy was purposefully following the not so hidden trail, a certain knight had left in his wake. But disregarding the young man's intention and iron will, it was quite obvious that he would not make it anywhere in time, considering his slow pace.<p>

Merlin was frustrated. Even though he had left the castle, as soon as he knew about the kidnapping, he was hopelessly behind. He wasn't able to move faster than a bloody snail apparently, and even worse, every step hurt like hell. And who was he kidding, in his current condition and considering that he was weaponless, which usually wasn't a problem, he was completely useless.

Maybe, he should have just listened to Gaius and taken a well deserved nap. He was really tired of being exhausted and of being solely responsible for the prat's defence against magical attacks or related events. He really needed some help right about now.

And how wonderful his head was pounding again, as if horse hooves where stomping away on his brai- wait. that wasn't in his head. Turning around slowly Merlin was greeted by a heavenly sight. Sir Leon, a true knight in shining armour (although he really hoped that didn't mean he was the damsel in distress), was galloping towards him, with a second horse in tow.

Stopping next to the gaping warlock Leon smiled and scolded mildly. "I had hoped you would share some of your rescue missions with me, now that I know your secret. But let's discuss that later, we have a prince to save."

Grinning widely Merlin approached his ride and mounted the horse clumsily. Once seated he sighed in relief at the momentary rest and nodded his thanks to the knight. Leon smiled again in return and together they rode off. Not into the sunset, but to the rescue of a prince in distress. So, Merlin wasn't the damsel after all, oh how he'll enjoy to tease Arthur about that.

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><p><strong>Review? :) please<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Helloo, so I know I haven't updated in forever, and I don't really have an excuse I was just too lazy to write. I'll try to finish this story quickly, but no promises. Sorry! Anyway, here's a very short chapter for you, that's as far as I got two weeks ago and I just decided to post it as it is. So hope you enjoy it despite the massive delay. And sorry for any mistakes. :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

**Chapter 13**

Thanks to the horses the two men reached the end of Tristan's trail quickly. However, much to Merlin's chagrin, they then had to dismount and leave the horses behind, in order not to be spotted too early. Sir Leon, who was in much better condition than Merlin, took the lead and found them enough cover to sneak up on the badly hidden campsite. From there it was quite easy to spot the kidnapped prince.

Arthur was lying on a wagon with his legs and arms restrained and a horrified look on his face. Had it not been for the fact that he had no wounds, Merlin would have believed he'd been tortured for some time. But then again Merlin knew that not every torture included physical pain. Trying to figure out the source of his prince's 'pain' he spotted Tristan, who was pacing close to the tree line and who was apparently enjoying a monologue of sorts. Which explained Arthur's expression, who knew how long he had already been forced to listen to Tristan's ranting. It was past time to save him!

Returning his focus to Sir Leon, who was grimacing in sympathy, he pointed towards Tristan. The knight only nodded in response, but before Merlin could move he motioned him to wait and waggled his fingers meaningfully. At a loss the manservant raised an eyebrow to convey his confusion. In return Leon frowned for a second, before he seemingly came up with a different sign. He then raised his hand in front of him and pointed his open palm at the clearing, while moving his lips soundlessly. For another moment Merlin was flabbergast, before he finally recognised his signature move. Leon was asking about his magic! or magic in general...Ah he probably wanted to know if there were any magical traps or surprises waiting for them.

Scanning the clearing again the raven-head decided that there shouldn't be any, as Tristan wasn't a sorcerer and his accomplice, who was curiously absent, only had the stone, which wasn't working properly on Merlin, so it was worth the risk to just storm in and hope for the best. Therefore he looked at Sir Leon and resolutely shook his head 'no'. Satisfied Leon made the knights sign for attack and promptly charged into the clearing, and jumped a surprised Tristan. Thanks to the moment of surprise, Leon managed to knock the wayward knight out with his first blow and well before Merlin was even able to move.

"Oh, thank god." Arthur exclaimed in relief, before his usual prattishness broke through and he added, "finally! What took you so long?"

Merlin, who was in the process of limping into the clearing, only rolled his eyes, ignored the prince he'd just risked his life to save, and said to Sir Leon.

"Could you check if he has a strange stone with markings on him? I'd rather not risk cramps in addition to my splendid headache."

The knight quickly filched his former comrades pockets and found nothing to Merlin's eternal relief.

"Hey," Arthur injected indignantly. "could one of you, I don't know, maybe, UNTIE me!"

"Of course, Sire." Sir Leon immediately hurried over to his prince's side and undid his restraints.

"Thank you," Arthur said rather sarcastically.

"Oh, don't sulk, prat, it still doesn't suit you," Merlin said exasperated.

Arthur was about to retort, when he realised that he would just waste his breath. And by the looks of Merlin he hadn't had the best day as well.

Besides, they had other business to attend to and this time he would personally make sure that _Sir_ Tristan stayed in the dungeons for the rest of his days. And he wouldn't particularly mind if that wasn't too long.


End file.
